Game of Thrones season 8 debunks Valonqar prophecy in episode 5

'Guess it wasn't important after all'

Jacob Stolworthy
Monday 13 May 2019 04:59 BST
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Game of Thrones: Season 8 Episode 4 - trailer

The latest Game of Thrones episode debunked a popular prophecy fans were hoping to see realised on the series.

*Major spoilers below – you have been warned*

Ever since the announcement of Cersei’s pregnancy in season seven, people have been speculating how this could corroborate the “Valonqar” theory, which calls back to the disturbing prophecy told to her by fortune teller Maggy the Frog when she was a young girl: that she will die at the hands of the Valonqar, which translates from High Valyrian as “little brother”.

Thrones fans have long assumed this means her brother Tyrion. Cersei’s hatred of Tyrion has been apparent since the very beginning of the show and one of the reasons behind her treating him so badly could be because she expects him to be the one who will ultimately kill her.

However, there was a big hint last season that Jaime – her twin and the father of her unborn child (still weird) – will be the one to “wrap his hands about [her] pale white throat and choke the life from [her]”. Jaime was born seconds after Cersei so this would indeed fulfill the “little brother” prophecy, though this can be debunked based on the fact Jaime has just one hand. It would be quite difficult to “choke the life” from Cersei without both hands.

However, in the show’s latest episode – the penultimate - Jaime did wrap his hands around Cersei’s neck, but not to kill her – he was diverting her face away from the falling rubble of buildings burnt to the ground by Daenerys and Drogon.

Fans are somewhat perturbed that the prophecy wasn’t realised on the show.

Since the broadcast of the episode, fans have questioned writers David Benioff and DB Weiss’ decision to humanise the villainous Cersei Lannister in an attempt to vilify Daenerys. Lena Headey, who plays Cersei, has revealed the reason why she initially felt “mixed” on her death scene.

The final season of Game of Thrones continues every Sunday. You can watch the trailer for the final ever episode here.

You can find our extensive ranking of our favourite most shocking moments below.

The show will be available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.

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